Stuffed Frog Puppet + Theremin = Keromin

If I had to take an educated guess, I would have thought the name ‘Keromin’ was a combination of Kermit (the frog) and Theremin. But it turns out that Kero is actually a Japanese term for the sound a frog makes. Who knew? (I guess anyone who speaks Japanese.) Anyways, the Keromin is a musical instrument that’s loosely based on a Theremin, except that it’s easier to play since all you need to do is stick your hand inside the puppet and open and close its mouth. The pitch is determined by the angle of your thumb and forefinger as you manipulate the mouth, and the volume is controlled by how strongly you grasp the puppet’s right arm.

The Keromin was created by an engineer named Yuji Okuyama and as the video below illustrates, it’s the perfect solution for anyone who’s ever wanted to be a ventriloquist without having to do all the practicing.

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